Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat: Mastering the Elements of Good Cooking

by Samin Nosrat

Other authors: Wendy MacNaughton (Illustrator)

Other authors: See the other authors section.

Members	Reviews	Popularity	Average rating	Mentions
2,804	27	5,480	(4.35)	39
Cooking & Food. Reference. Nonfiction. HTML:**More than 1 million copies sold New York Times bestseller * Winner of the James Beard Award and multiple IACP Cookbook Awards * Available as a Netflix series * Transform how you prep, cook, and think about food with this visionary master class in cooking by Samin Nosrat that distills decades of professional experience into just four simple elements�from the woman declared "America's next great cooking teacher" by Alice Waters. Featuring more than 100 recipes from Samin and more than 150 illustrations from acclaimed illustrator Wendy MacNaughton!** In the tradition of The Joy of Cooking and How to Cook Everything comes Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat, an ambitious new approach to cooking. Chef and writer Samin Nosrat has taught everyone from professional chefs to middle school kids to author Michael Pollan to cook using her revolutionary, yet simple, philosophy. Master the use of just four elements�Salt, which enhances flavor; Fat, which delivers flavor and generates texture; Acid, which balances flavor; and Heat, which ultimately determines the texture of food�and anything you cook will be delicious. By explaining the hows and whys of good cooking, Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat will teach and inspire a new generation of cooks how to confidently make better decisions in the kitchen and cook delicious meals with any ingredients, anywhere, at any time. Echoing Samin's own journey from culinary novice to award-winning chef, Salt, Fat Acid, Heat immediately bridges the gap between home and professional kitchens. With charming narrative, illustrated walkthroughs, and a lighthearted approach to kitchen science, Samin demystifies the four elements of good cooking for everyone. Refer to the canon of 100 essential recipes�and dozens of variations�to put the lessons into practice and make bright, balanced vinaigrettes, perfectly caramelized roast vegetables, tender braised meats, and light, flaky pastry doughs. Destined to be a classic, Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat just might be the last cookbook you'll ever need. With a foreword by Michael Pollan. Named one of the Best Books of the Year by: NPR, BuzzFeed, The Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, Rachel Ray Every Day, San Francisco Chronicle,* Elle.com, Glamour, Eater, Newsday, The Seattle Times, Tampa Bay Times, Tasting Table, Publishers Weekly, and more!*.… (more)

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Showing 1-5 of 27 (next | show all)

Сочена за най-гениалната книга в кулинарното изкуство, тя просто потвърди отдавнашното ми виждане, че всички форми на това "изкуство" са просто усложнени упражнения в това да накараш продуктите в ресторантската кухня да имат вкус на добри и пресни, традиционни храни и авторката изобщо не крие това.

Колкото и да сотира, фламбира и маринова, всички тия усилия идват от стремежа й да достигне в кухнята на ресторанта си оня вкус, който помни от обикновения сандвич със солено домашно сирене и краставица в питка, който майка й е приготвяла за плажа в родния й Иран или кебапът, който чичовците й и сега, по време на семейните събирания, пекат на толкова нагорещена тенекия, че космите на ръцете им изгарят.

Наистина, книгата е добре написана, с ясни и понякога поетични обяснения, но седемнайсет вида сол и няколко "пласта" подкиселяване ми идват както в повече, така и напълно излишни. Повечето от написаното е теория, предназначена за хора, достатъчно опитни в основите на готвенето, която може би ще да е полезна за професионален готвач или фууди-хипстър.

Аз обаче не съм нито едното, нито другото и ако ми се прииска сандвич с домашно сирене и краставица, мога просто да си направя такъв, да го посоля с обикновена сол и да го изям с кеф. А историята, как някакъв международно признат готвач накарал авторката да сложи малко оцет (о ужас!!!) в супата си и нейния тотален шок как това подобрило вкуса, доста ме разсмя. Оцет в супата! Кой да знае, че в кварталната ми шкембежджийница толкова ги разбират работите :Р (

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Longanlon | Nov 19, 2024 |

My middle son wants this. I haven't seen it yet.
I see one reviewer says that she appreciates the tutorial, and that her main takeaway is "when in doubt, add more salt." Since that is *terrible* advice ([b:Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us|15797397|Salt Sugar Fat How the Food Giants Hooked Us|Michael Moss|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1361919312s/15797397.jpg|21520265] anyone? Hypertension? Edema?) for the majority of us, I will definitely preview this before gifting it to my son.

I see another that says it's all "Alice Waters this and AW that" and I agree with that reviewer that says we can read an AW book if we want that, but would rather read about Nosrat's other influences, particularly her family.

Also, most reviewers seem to be less experienced than I am, people who rely on recipes. I don't.

So, we'll see. I'll keep trying to get a preview copy.
.........
Skimming a copy now.

The thing about salt is that her fondness for it can be relevant to me *in certain instances.* I believe her when she says that cooking green beans in salted water will plump them, and that salt will bring forward other flavors, and that we don't want to use so much that the food tastes salty, but just enough to do the intended job. In my case it means that I might choose to salt the rice or bean water so that the food is seasoned *from within and throughout* and therefore I could use less seasoning of any type afterwards. (Maybe I could salt the pasta water, too, depending of the nutrition label's admission of salt already in the pasta.) I wonder if "No Salt" potassium chloride has a similar effect, as I should actually be using that sometimes....

I'm really not liking her voice/ attitude. If we're eating something she doesn't approve of, it doesn't matter how much we enjoy it, we should instead scold our palate, throw out most of what is in our pantry, buy a bunch of specialty ingredients, and learn the so-called fundamentals of cooking all over again. I suppose that actually makes sense for some readers, those who aren't confident of their talents in the kitchen. But others of us are indeed simply looking to add to our repertoire, looking for the "ah-has," and her Chez Panisse attitude sure does grate.

I didn't get anything out of the Fat chapter, except a reminder to preheat the oil before sauteing or frying.

Interestingly, the introduction to the Acid chapter reveals another dissonance. Her Maman showed her the value of acid (sour) by serving lemon, lime, sumac berries, or something else suitable at every meal. I think the idea to put a dollop of yogurt on the spaghetti is brilliant, though she admits that she winces at the memory. Now, of course the tomatoes are already acid, so I'll have to think about this. But in any case I'm bothered that she just threw out this combination from her heritage.

I did put together a pantry soup last week that was amazing. We've decided it was because of the lemon I used up in it, the juice and pulp. But I figured all that out before seeing this book. Hm.

Sometimes (carrot soup) responds to just a little bit of vinegar. I don't want to invest in a whole pantry of choices (and I despise balsamic) so I'm going to use the apple cider that I have more often, and buy a bottle of malt vinegar (I've loved it on fish).

Heat chapter, recipes, bonus materials didn't do anything for me. I tried. Sorry son.

Cheryl_in_CC_NV | Oct 18, 2024 |

Up front the author acknowledges that cardiologists will not agree with the recommendations on salt usage. This book is about taste, not blood pressure.

Many of the foods mentioned in the book are not household names. The author worked in fancy restaurants where they prepared food to delight the most discriminating palates.

The last half of the book the book is recipes, but they are not recipes in the usual sense. We have already been told to adjust the recipes according to taste, sight, and smell. We were told that how a dish is prepared depends on the freshness and flavor that the food already contains. So instead of a straight jacket recipe, they are descriptions of considerations for that food. (

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bread2u | May 15, 2024 |

For those, like me, with the most rudimentary of cooking training and little opportunity to learn more than just how to follow a recipe, this book is eye opening. Perhaps those who are formally trained or schooled at home or in family restaurants by family members who were not afraid to experiment with food, creating their own recipes handed down by generation, take for granted a lot of the knowledge imparted in this book. It is far more than a cookbook -- its 150 recipes do not nearly fill the 480 pages of it. The bulk of it is solid, useful information about why the title elements are important in cooking, how they enhance flavors and why. I have had my copy of Better Homes & Gardens Cookbook since my wedding shower in the 1970s, followed shortly by Irma Rombauer's The Joy of Cooking, and later Julia Childs, The Moosewood, and a variety of others followed. But aside from beloved recipes that I have tried and repeated over the decades in those books, and likely know by heart now, I feel I can pass those on to someone else and use this book alone as my cooking bible. Ironically, after all the years of rebelling against by society's cramped expectations about "women's sphere" and therefore pursuing an education and career in a testosterone-driven profession, I have an urge to learn to cook well and adventurously in my declining years. My partner cooks for us; he spoils me that way, but I want to learn to be better at it and share the kitchen with him and this book is going to be my constant companion when I retire and embark on that new adventure. (

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bschweiger | Feb 4, 2024 |

The chapter on salt provides an explanation of the chemistry behind that mineral's essential role in human nutrition and culinary arts.

The book also reinforced my practice (first learned from Angelo Pellegrini's The Unprejudiced Palate") of using rather than following recipes.
(

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boermsea | Jan 22, 2024 |

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Author name	Role	Type of author	Work?	Status
Nosrat, Samin	—	primary author	all editions	confirmed
MacNaughton, Wendy	Illustrator	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Blind, Sofia	Translator	secondary author	some editions	confirmed
Pollan, Michael	Foreword	secondary author	some editions	confirmed

▾Series and work relationships

Is contained in

4 Book Collection: Salt Fat Acid Heat, The Healthy Medic Food for Life, 5 Simple Ingredients Slow Cooker, Tasty and Healthy by Samin Nosrat

Salt Fat Acid Heat Collection 2 Books Set by Samin Nosrat

▾Awards and Honors

Awards

Golden Poppy Book Award (Winner – Food – 2017)

IACP Cookbook Award (Winner – American – 2018)

IACP Cookbook Award (Winner – First Book: Julia Child Award – 2018)

IACP Cookbook Award (Finalist – Chefs & Restaurants – 2018)

James Beard Foundation Award (Winner – General Cooking – 2018)

Distinctions

NPR: Books We Love (2017)

Publishers Weekly's Best Books of the Year (Lifestyle – 2017)

Notable Lists

Los Angeles Public Library Best of the Year (Non-Fiction – 2017)

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Canonical title

Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat: Mastering the Elements of Good Cooking

Original title

Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat: Mastering the Elements of Good Cooking

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2017-04-25

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Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat (2018 | IMDb)

Epigraph

Anyone who likes to eat, can soon learn to cook well.
—Jane Grigson

Dedication

For Alice Waters, who gave me the kitchen, and for Maman, who gave me the world

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▾Book descriptions

Cooking & Food. Reference. Nonfiction. HTML:*More than 1 million copies sold * New York Times bestseller * Winner of the James Beard Award and multiple IACP Cookbook Awards * Available as a Netflix series *

Transform how you prep, cook, and think about food with this visionary master class in cooking by Samin Nosrat that distills decades of professional experience into just four simple elements�from the woman declared "America's next great cooking teacher" by Alice Waters.

Featuring more than 100 recipes from Samin and more than 150 illustrations from acclaimed illustrator Wendy MacNaughton!
In the tradition of The Joy of Cooking and How to Cook Everything comes Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat, an ambitious new approach to cooking. Chef and writer Samin Nosrat has taught everyone from professional chefs to middle school kids to author Michael Pollan to cook using her revolutionary, yet simple, philosophy. Master the use of just four elements�Salt, which enhances flavor; Fat, which delivers flavor and generates texture; Acid, which balances flavor; and Heat, which ultimately determines the texture of food�and anything you cook will be delicious. By explaining the hows and whys of good cooking, Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat will teach and inspire a new generation of cooks how to confidently make better decisions in the kitchen and cook delicious meals with any ingredients, anywhere, at any time.

Echoing Samin's own journey from culinary novice to award-winning chef, Salt, Fat Acid, Heat immediately bridges the gap between home and professional kitchens. With charming narrative, illustrated walkthroughs, and a lighthearted approach to kitchen science, Samin demystifies the four elements of good cooking for everyone. Refer to the canon of 100 essential recipes�and dozens of variations�to put the lessons into practice and make bright, balanced vinaigrettes, perfectly caramelized roast vegetables, tender braised meats, and light, flaky pastry doughs.

Destined to be a classic, Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat just might be the last cookbook you'll ever need.

With a foreword by Michael Pollan.

*Named one of the Best Books of the Year by: NPR, BuzzFeed, The Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, Rachel Ray Every Day, San Francisco Chronicle, Elle.com, Glamour, Eater, Newsday, The Seattle Times, Tampa Bay Times, Tasting Table, Publishers Weekly, and more!*.

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